She's A Star
by Angelfan15
Summary: Buffy gets a recording contract with Caritas Entertainment, her manager is a handsome womanizer who vows never to be with one woman for more then one night but Buffy is drawn to him anyway. AU. WORK IN PROGRESS.
1. Caritas Entertainment

She's A Star

By Angelfan15

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!

Pairing: B/A

Distribution: Let me know where it's going!

Spoilers: This is completely AU

Rating: PG-13 for now.

Summary: Buffy gets a recording contract with Caritas Entertainment, her manager is a handsome womanizer who vows never to be with one woman for more then one night but Buffy is drawn to him anyway.

Authors Notes: The songs in this fic belong to Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood and Selena Quintanilla- Perez. I dont own any of the songs.

Feedback is always appreciated.

Chapter 1: Caritas Entertainment

A dark haired man walked briskly through the glass doors of a large building into the busy lobby, he was wearing a black suite with a white dress shirt and back tie, a black brief case in his right hand. The young blonde woman at the large desk hung up the phone quickly to greet him with a smile. "Hello, Mr…" She trailed off as the man gave her a slight nod and continued walking towards the elevators. She kept her eyes on him as he pushed the button for the elevator, he looked at his watch on his wrist as he waited for the elevator doors to open. "He didn't say hello to you, he must be busy." The young woman turned her head to see a short man with dark hair leaning against her desk, she had always thought his thick Irish accent was hot but he wasn't the kind of guy she went for.

"Hello, Mr. Doyle. Yes, I am sure he is very busy." The blonde said giving him a small smile.

The man reached over the tall desk to pick up a pen. "What did I tell you about calling me Mr. Doyle?"

She watched him as he pretended to be interested in the blue pen. "Not to call you it."

"Exactly!" He said losing interest in the pen, tossing it back in the direction he got it from. "Lorne called him this morning. Said he wanted to meet with him. I'm sure he will be back to his normal self when he sees you later."

The man approached the red head sitting at her desk. She was talking in to the head piece connected to her ear. "Please hold." She said into the devise when she saw the man.

"Kim, is he in? He told me to meet with him." The brown eyed man said.

She nodded and pushed the button on the intercom. "Mr. Poll, Mr. McCallum is here."

"Thanks Sweets. Send him in." Came the voice of her boss.

Kim smiled up at the handsome man. "You heard him."

He smiled back at Kim and walked past her desk.

"Hey there Angel cakes!" Came the excited voice of Lorne Poll, the owner of Caritas Entertainment.

The dark haired man shut the door behind him. "Could you please not call me that?"

Lorne got up from his chair. "But its just so fun!"

"For you." He replied not looking amused.

"Loosen up cupcake." Lorne laughed giving the man a hug.

"As soon as you stop calling me pastries." He warned setting his brief case down.

Lorne turned to go back to his large desk chair. "Noted. Not going to happen, but noted."

Lorne watched Angel McCallum sit in the chair on the other side of the desk.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about Lorne?" Angel asked getting right down to it. He didn't think he was in trouble because Lorne seemed to be in such a good mood but normally Lorne was in a good mood.

"No small talk with you, huh? No how is the wife and kids?" The light haired man smiled opening a manila folder.

Angel narrowed his hard brown eyes at the man behind the desk. "You don't have a wife and kids."

"I know, how are yours?" Lorne smiled.

Shaking his head Angel replied. "I don't have a wife and I sure as hell don't have any kids."

"That we know of anyway." Lorne pointed towards Angel. "Okay, as you know we lost a few contacts recently. Getting right to the point I want you to get us some more."

Angel leaned back in the chair. "That isn't exactly my job, Lorne. I don't deal with anyone until they have signed a contract with us."

"I'm aware. I don't want to chance losing any more then we already have. I trust you Angel, I know you wont… oh, I don't know go behind my back to another company taking contacts with you." Lorne explained.

Angel sighed. "I get it. Where do you want me to go?"

Lorne looked down at the papers in the manila folder. "Anywhere you would like, I hear small towns are in this year."

"Small towns. What am I going to do in a small town? Be bored to death?" Angel asked. "But I will do it because you asked me to. All expenses paid?"

"Of course! On the company!" Lorne smiled wide.

"Any messages?" Angel asked his assistant after his meeting with Lorne. She handed him a few small pieces of paper with messages written on them. He walked into his office, shutting the door behind him.

"What did he want?" Angel looked over to see Doyle laying on the couch in his office, hands behind his head.

He looked back down to the messages in his hand. "Feet off the couch. He wants me to get some new talents for the company."

"Why you?" Doyle asked sitting up.

Angel sat down at his desk. "Because he wants me to. I am going to leave next week."

"Where are we going?" Doyle asked excitedly.

Looking up at Doyle he replied. "WE are not going, I am going alone. If I need you then I will let you know. I think I am going to start in New York and work my way back here to California."

"I am your personal assistant though mate, you need me." Doyle tried to convince him. "We could cover more ground if I was there too! I know a good singing voice when I hear it!"

Angel closed his eyes for a second, Doyle had a point and it is always interesting with Doyle around. "I will run it by Lorne."

1 Week Later

Angel walked around his bedroom getting his clothes out of his closet and putting them neatly in his suite case, he was leaving for New York in the morning with Doyle. He had talked to Lorne about Doyle going with him to look for new talent, Lorne was unsure at first but agreed that Doyle could go to help Angel. Lorne trusted Doyle because Angel trusted him.

Angel was going to meet Doyle at the airport. He had told Doyle to meet him at 9:00 AM knowing Doyle would be late and would actually show up around Noon when they actually needed to be there. He finished packing, put his suite case and laptop bag by the door then went to bed.

Angel stood outside their gate at the airport waiting for Doyle. He looked down at his watch, it was 12:02. Doyle was so predictable, late as always. A tall beautiful brunette wearing a short red dress walked past Angel looking him up and down with a flirtatious smile. He was wearing simple blue jeans and a sweater, it was warm to wear a sweater in California but he thought he should plan ahead because they would be landing in New York. He had checked the weather in New York and it was going to be chilly that day. Angel smiled back at the woman wearing the short dress, he was about to walk after her to ask for her number or a quickie before he needed to board his plan but he saw Doyle out of the corner of his eye. Doyle walked slowly, wearing his normal jeans, blue shirt and leather jacket pulling his small luggage behind him. Angel let out a sigh, by the time Doyle actually got to him he could have caught up with the leggy brunette had his fun and been back to the gate.

"Hey, man" Doyle greeted stopping a few feet away from Angel.

"Right on time, I see." Angel commented sarcastically.

Doyle nodded. "Arnt I always? You know we could have just car pooled and then both of us wouldn't have had to pay for long term parking. These prices are outrageous!"

Angel looked down at his feet, the reason he never wanted to go to the airport with anyone was so he could make sure he was there first to go through security. Airport security made you take your shoes off, he didn't like to take his shoes off in front of people, he didn't know why, it was just something he never felt comfortable doing. He couldn't help it if he had to do it in front of strangers. "You mean so YOU wouldn't have to pay for long term parking."

"Well you are the one that gets paid the big bucks! I'm just your assistant." Doyle commented.

Angel shook his head. "Doyle, did you forget that Caritas Entertainment is covering everything?"

"Oh right. I dont feel so bad anymore." The dark haired man with irish accent smiled. "Do you want to get something to eat, since its on Lorne's dime?"

Looking over at the digital screen telling when their flight left he nodded, they were boarding the plane at 1:15. "If we hurry."

Every restuarant close by was packed, except Pizza Hut. They both got personal size pizza's and sat down to eat. "You know what I hate about these kind of places?" Angel asked Doyle.

"What?" He asked taking a large bite.

Angel looked down at his pizza that didnt look very fresh. "You never know when these pizza's were made. Who know's how long they have been sitting there."

Doyle shook his head and kept eating. He loved Angel like a brother but sometimes Angel was stuck up. He has been living the VIP life for to long. Angel was born with a silver spoon in his mouth unlike Doyle who was lucky to make it week to week, now Angel had a amazing job as a talent manager at Caritas Entertainment, Doyle was just his personal assistant. He had only gotten the job because he knew Angel when they were younger, Doyle's mother worked for Angel's family as their maid when the boys were growing up. His mother still worked for Angel's parents to this day. Doyle was grateful for the job he had, even if he did have to get Angel coffee, answer his phone calls, pick up his dry cleaning and on occasion break up with Angel's "lady friends" for him. He wasnt even sure if the last one was part of his job discription but he did it anyway because Angel helped him out so much. He owed a lot to Angel. The plus side of his job was he got to meet famous people. Nsync, Backstreet Boys, Julia Roberts, Madonna, Robin Williams and Tom Hanks to name a few, but Doyle's favorite that he had met was Jennifer Lopez.

Angel looked at his watch and wiped his hands on a napkin. "We better get going." He said then pulling out a small package of moist wipes to clean his hands better.

The two men walked back to their gate and sat down, a few seconds later a woman wearing a American Airlines flight attendent uniform spoke into the speaker that they were going to start boarding first class in 5 minutes. Angel got up to make his way over to the gate, he wanted to be first in line. He noticed Doyle hadnt moved but instead he was feeling around his coat, patting his pockets. "Have you see my ticket by any chance?" Doyle asked.

Angel tilted his head up towards the ceiling, closing his eyes. "You lost your boarding pass?"

"Ha! Here it is!" Doyle said reaching into his coat pocket. "Oh wait, no... that is a notice to appear in court." He felt around his coat once more reaching into the inside breast pocket. "Okay, this is really it. See." He showed Angel his boarding pass.

"Never a dull moment." Angel mumbled to himself as he walked away.

"Alright! First class!" Doyle said sitting down next to Angel, rubbing his hands together."Gotta love trips on the company! When do we get the booze?"

Angel looked passed Doyle across the walk way to see a woman traveling with a toddler and a baby, 'Thank God this is a straight through flight.' Angel thought as the baby started to cry.

Angel and Doyle went straight to the Hotel after landing in the smallest Airport he had ever seen. They were in a small town called Ithaca, New York. The Airport only had 2 gates! The Hotel that his secretary had booked them was the only Hilton in the whole town. Angel already couldn't wait to get out of there. They were 4 hours from New York City, he made a mental note to take a trip to the City before they went on to the next state.

It took Angel a whole hour to get bored, in his opinion there was nothing to do but Doyle was having a great time with the mini fridge that was packed full of alcohol and treats. Angel pulled out a manila folder from his computer bag, he opened it to find that the first page said "Ithaca New York" on the top of the page. There was a list of places for them to check out, going down the list he didn't see anything interesting until he saw "The Haunt". He thought that sounded like a good place to start, plus it was a club so he was bound to have some fun there.

Angel told Doyle he was going to go out to start the search, Doyle grabbed his coat quickly saying "All work."

When they got to The Haunt it was 11:30 and the place was dead. The lights were out, there were only 5 people on the dance floor and another hand full of people at the bar.

"Well this is a bust." Angel said disappointed.

Doyle walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. "Might as well stay for a drink."

A half hour later they were still at The Haunt, Angel should know by now that when Doyle says a drink he really means 5. Angel was about to leave when a group of people in their early 20's walked through the door. "Finally!"

"Now... how are you going to know if any of them has any talent?" Doyle asked.

Angel and Doyle were about to leave Ithaca, New York. They had been there for 2 weeks which almost half that time they spent in New York City but Lorne didn't need to know that. The first night they were in Ithaca at The Haunt, Angel met a young woman named Jean who had said it was her dream to become famous. Angel told her he worked for Caritas Entertainment, that specialized in musical talent only. They went back to her place so she could sing for him, she was no good. Angel didn't tell her that though, he just ended up having sex with her and leaving in the middle of the night.

After being in Ithaca for a week Angel and Doyle were driving around and took a wrong turn, ending up in a even smaller town called Dryden. They stopped where there was a group of people to ask for directions when Angel heard singing. He parked the car on the side of the road in the first available spot he could find. "What is going on here?" Angel asked as he got out of the car, there were hundreds of people all over- the sides of the street, the gas station parking lot. He was sure everyone in the whole town was there.

Doyle got out of the car, walking around to Angel he asked "What is Dryden Dairy Days?" pointing to a large white sign.

Angel shrugged, walking in the direction of the singing. It sounded like a group of people singing. They weren't half bad. Making his way through the crowd of people he saw games, tables set up for bake sales, a fire truck parked on grass with firemen showing young children how everything worked inside, a stand to buy milk and ice cream and he could smell farm animals which he really didn't want to. He came to a stop when he found the group of people singing in front of a large white gazebo. A crowd was gathered around the group taking pictures and videos. There were 5 girls and 3 boys singing but his eyes went to one girl who seemed to out shine the rest. She was thin and short with long brown hair, he kept his eyes on her until they finished singing and someone announced for everyone to put their hands together for the Dryden High School Chorus. When the group of students went their separate ways to what Angel supposed was to enjoy the activities he followed the young girl he had been watching. He found out her name was Sarah, she was a senior at Dryden High School. Angel was happy to find out she was 18, that meant he didn't have to deal with her parents to get her to sign a contract with Caritas Entertainment, he just had to get her to agree to it. He gave her his card and said they would be in touch.

Now as they were leaving the small town, Angel was happy that he had started the proccess of getting a new client for Caritas Entertainment. He already contacted Lorne to tell him about Sarah, Lorne was pleased.

Angel and Doyle got on a plane to go to their next stop Irwin, Pennsylvania. Driving to Irwin from Pittsburg Angel let out a sigh when he say a sign reading 'Welcome To Irwin! Population: 4,041' "Great, this place is even smaller then the last place!" Not getting a responce Angel looked over to see Doyle sleeping in the passanger seat.

"How many more places do we have to go?" Doyle asked leaning back in his seat, closing his eyes. They had just boarded the airplane leaving Forks, Washington. They had made their way from the East Coast back to the West Coast looking for new musical talents, they had found a few on their journey across the United States. Doyle didnt know he would miss his apartment though, it felt like they had been gone for much longer then the 7 months they had been gone.

"This is the last one. A place called Sunnydale, California." Angel answered.

Doyle opened his eyes and lifted his head. "That isnt far from Los Angelos. I have been there before."

Angel smirked. "So you know all the hot spots then?"

"There is only one hot spot in The Dale. The Bronze. The only club in the whole town. Anyone who is anyone will be there... or so I am told." Doyle shrugged.

Narrowing his eyes at Doyle. "You have been there."

"Okay, once or twice. Its not JUST for high school students ya know!" Doyle defended as the flight attendent went through the usual safety instructions that both the men now knew by heart. "Really, it students go there too."

"I dont know what you are talking about." Angel was somewhat confused.


	2. Gotta Get The Girl

A/N The reason for the secondary characters that are not from Buffyverse is they wont be in the story much or some of them never again. They dont really have an importance to the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for the feedback!

A/N The song in this chapter is Tell Me Something I Dont Know by Selena Gomez.

Chapter 2: Gotta Get The Girl

"Hey sexy boy toy!" A teenage girl with dirty blonde hair said cheerfully. Smiling at the dark haired boy sitting at the picnik table in the middle of the court yard of Sunnydale High School.

The boy smiled turning slightly to watch her walk behind him to sit on the other side of him. "Thats all I am to you arnt I Buffy? A Boy toy."

"You forgot the sexy part." Buffy fake pouted. She spotted her red headed best friend walking towards the picnik table. "Hey Wills!"

"Oh! Buffy! Did you do the english homework? It was so awesome!" The red head said excitingly as she sat across from her friends.

The boy shook his head. "WE dont do the homework, Willow."

"Xander! You have to do the homework. You wont get anywhere in life if you dont." Willow said worriedly.

The boy shook his finger at the red head. "I'm not Xander, I'm the boy toy."

"Sexy boy toy." Buffy smiled.

Willow's eyes widened. "Oh, oh! Yes, se...sexy. Speaking of..." Willow trailed off pointing towards a boy across the court yard.

Buffy and Xander turned to look at who Willow was referring to, Buffy quickly turned back around.

"Are you ever going to talk to him again?" Willow asked her friend.

"NO!" Xander answered for Buffy.

Buffy looked down at the red picnik table. "Not really, the whole cheating on me and breaking up with me thing kind of makes me not want to talk to him anymore."

"But Scott is really sorry, he said so!" Willow told her best friend.

"You talked to him?" Buffy asked.

"Well..." Willow started. "It was for a project, so really...really it's Dr. Gregory's fault!"

Xander shook his head quickly at Willow.

"Dont blame Dr. Gregory!" Buffy said defending her favorite teacher.

Willow bite her lip. "Sorry."

"We going Bronzing tonight?" Xander said changing the subject for Willow's sake.

Willow nodded looking over at Buffy to see her nodding also. "Open Mic Night." Buffy commented.

"Hello, I'm an enormous slut." Buffy said to herself as she held up a dark purple dress in front of her looking into the mirror. Putting the purple dress down she help up a white sundress with small blue flowers on it. "Would you like a copy of the watch tower? Arg! I used to be so good at this."

"Going out?" Buffy looked up from the dresses she placed on her bed to see her mother, Joyce leaning against the door frame of her bedroom.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, just for a little while. open mic night."

"Sounds fun." Joyce sat down on Buffy's bed. "Buffy, I know we havent been actively looking for ways for you to get ... out there anymore but if you want to try again."

"I dont know anymore.. maybe." Buffy told her mother.

Joyce took Buffy by the hand. "I dont think you could ever change if that is what you are worried about, you are very set in your ways Buffy. Believe me, I know."

"Gee, thanks mom." Buffy smiled.

"Just let me know." She said smiling back at her daughter. Getting up off the bed Joyce lightly slapped Buffy's on the leg. "Go with the purple dress, you dont want to look like a prude."

Buffy laughed as her mother walked out of the bedroom.

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad! See you later!" Buffy shouted as she ran down the stairs and out the door.

Buffy was running late, she was supposed to meet Willow and Xander at the Bronze in 5 minutes. She was never going to make it there on time walking. They would understand why she was late, she couldnt pick what to wear! In the end she went with the dark purple dress like her mother suggested. For being a mom she had a pretty good fashion sense... when it came to other people. The one thing Buffy didnt take into account was how annoying walking to The Bronze would be with the high heels, she was used to it but it didnt mean she enjoyed it.

Walking into The Bronze Buffy scanned the crowd of people looking for her two best friends. She found them sitting at a table in the corner of The Bronze. Buffy didnt even get the chance to sit down before Xander said "Late."

"I'm sure she has a valid reason." Willow defended her blonde friend.

"Late!" Xander commented again.

Willow started to fidget in her chair. "Maybe she met a guy and it was love at first sight and .. was there a a guy?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "No. No guys. I couldnt figure out what to wear."

"Ah." Was both of their replies.

"No love at first sight guy?" Willow asked slightly sad.

Buffy let out a small laugh while she placed her purse on the table and sat down between her best friends. "No love at first sight. Sorry Wills."

"Poo." Willow pouted.

"What is this junk?" Xander asked looking past Buffy.

Buffy looked up at Xander. "Are we talking about the muffin you are eating or the person singing on stage?"

"On stage. This guy sucks, he sounds like Herbert dying. Get up there and do your thing, Buffy." Xander motioned towards the stage as both girls gasped.

"Why would you say that?" Willow asked shocked.

"What did Herbert ever do to you?" For some odd reason Buffy had a bond with the Sunnydale High School mascot.

Angel made his way through the crowded club, it worked out that tonight was Open Mic Night but it seemed like Sunnydale had no talent. He was about to find Doyle to tell him that he was going to head back to the hotel when Doyle found him.

"Hey man, I was just..." Doyle shouted so Angel could hear him over the music.

Angel looked at Doyle confused. "I cant hear you!"

"What?" Doyle shouted not being able to make out what Angel was saying.

"I cant hear you!" Angel shouted louder, he motioned towards the door. Doyle follwed him out.

Walking out the door with Doyle behind him Angel looked over his shoulder at his Assistant. "I was saying I was asking around and heard there is a girl that is really good and she comes every time there is open mic."

"Is she good enough to sign? The people I have heard are not good." Angel said looking towards the door.

"These guys say she is really good." Doyle motioned with his hands to go back in. "I just dont know when she is going to get on stage."

As soon as Angel walked through the door he couldnt believe what he was hearing. He looked to the stage and saw a young girl wearing a tight dark purple dress that went to her mid thigh, the first thing he noticed was her voice. He hadnt heard a voice like that in a long time. He watched her as she worked the stage.

Everybody tells me that it's so hard to make it  
>It's so hard to break in<br>There's no way to fake it  
>Everybody tells me that it's wrong what I'm feelin'<br>And I shouldn't believe in  
>The dreams that I'm dreamin'<p>

I hear it every day  
>I hear it all the time<br>I'm never gonna amount to much  
>But they're never gonna change my mind, no <p>

Angel watched her with a small smile on his face as she wiggled her hips on stage while she was singing.

Tell me, Tell me, Tell me  
>Something I don't know, Something I don't know<br>Something I don't know

Like how many inches in a mile  
>What it takes to make you smile<br>Get you not to treat me like a child, baby 

"Is this the girl you were talking about?" Angel asked Doyle.

Doyle shrugged. "I don't know who the girl is, I just know she sings at every open mic night."

Tell me, Tell me something I don't know

Everybody tells me I don't know what I'm doing  
>The life I'm pursuing<br>The odds I'll be losing  
>Everybody tells me that it's one in a million, no<br>One in a billion, oh  
>One in a zillion <p>

"Well if she isnt this great singer they were talking about then I cant wait to see who this other girl is." Angel said not taking his eyes off the girl singing on stage.

I'm on my way  
>I know I'm gonna get there someday<br>It doesn't help when you say  
>It won't be easy!<p>

Tell me, Tell me, Tell me  
>Something I don't know, Something I don't know<br>Something I don't know.

The crowd cheered when she finished the song. Nodding his head as he watched her thank everyone and get off the stage. He didn't take his eyes off her as she went to the bar, he walked over to her.

Angel leaned against the bar next to her. "Hello, I heard you singing and I wanted to talk to you about..."

The girl looked over at Angel as she picked up her soda from the bar. "No thanks."

"Okay." Angel said with a small laugh. "How old are you?"

"No offense but... your old." She responded then turned to walk away.

Angel raised his eyebrows at her and pulled out a business card. "Call me." He said handing her the card.

The girl walked away without even glancing at the card. He watched her walk over to a table with a red head girl and a dark haired boy, Angel saw her place his card in her purse.

"Who was that guy you were talking to?" Willow asked

Buffy shrugged. "Some old guy." She watched him as he made his way through the throng of people until he was out of sight.

Xander glanced behind him trying to see the man then changed the subject. "You did great up there Buff."

"Thanks Xander." She said with a small smile. "Either of you want to go up?"

"No!" Xander exclaimed, while Willow let out a squeak.

Doyle walked into the hotel room he shared with Angel to see him laying on the couch. "How did it go with that girl? Last I saw you were talking to her and then you were gone. I thought maybe you hooked up with someone."

Angel let out a sigh. "Not good. She didnt even let me get a pitch out. She called me old and walked away. I'm not old!"

Doyle smiled shaking his head. "Your 25, Angel. You arnt old... but that also depends on how old she is."

"Doyle, man!" Angel said sitting up.

"Sorry." Doyle shrugged. "Some teens would think of us as old. So you didnt hook up with anyone then?"

"I'm here arnt I?" Angel said making his way to the mini fridge. "Anyway, I gave her my card. Told her to call me."

"Who?" Doyle asked.

"The girl that sang tonight." Angel told him. "I am going to see if I can catch her again before we leave this weekend. I want to make sure we get her, she has a great voice and I know it has the potential to be amazing."

"I take it you couldn't find her." Doyle said as he packed his bag.

Angel shook his head and sad on the couch in their hotel room. "No. I dont know where she could be, this town isnt that big."

"Maybe she isnt from here." Doyle suggested, throwing another shirt into his bag. "Arnt you packing?"

"I am going to stay here, look for her a little longer." Angel told the other man.

Doyle looked confused. "Lorne is going to let you? He is paying for this, right?"

"Its on my dime now." Angel said. "You go back home though. I have this covered."

Angel had been hanging out around Sunnydale all day, Doyle told him most of the places that the teenagers liked to hand out around town. Still no luck finding the girl who had sang at The Bronze the week before. He was starting to get bored, he had been to a coffee place called The Expresso Pump, the mall, the more popular shops around town. It was almost like this girl was gone. He walked past the strip of stores on main street with his hands in his pockets, glancing up he saw a store with a large open book on the top of the building with the name "The Magic Box" in large letters. He wasnt sure if it was a magic shop or a book store, either way he wanted to check it out. Who knows maybe this girl is into magic or she could be a brain.

He looked up as the door hit a bell above it. The sales woman heard the bell and made her way from the cash register. "How may I service you?" The sales woman asked brightly.

Angel raised his eye brow at the young woman. "What?" She said.

Angel let out a small laugh. He had only been approached with 'how may I service you' by hookers. The girl wasnt really his type but if she offered, he wouldn't say no.

"Ah, Hello. Are you finding everything?" A British man with glasses approached Angel.

"I'm actually just looking around. I'm passing through town, checking out places around town." Angel told the man, looking around. "This is a book store?"

The man nodded. "Well yes."

"What else would it be?" The blonde sales woman asked.

"This place is called The Magic Box right? I figured it was a Occult store or something." Angel shrugged.

The man smiled. "I believe there is magic in every book. Now, is there a book you are interested in?"

"Actually, I have been wanting to read 'The Winter of Our Discontent'" Angel told the man. "Do you own this place?"

"Ah, John Steinback. Yes, I do own this book store." The man told Angel as he motioned for Angel to follow him to a shelf in the corner.

"You know your books." Angel smiled.

Angel had gone back to his hotel room to put his new book away. At first he had planned to sit back and relax, start to read his new book but he suddenly felt like he wanted to go see a movie. Now he was on his way to Sun Cinema.

Walking up to the enterence of Sun Cinema Angel realized he had no idea what movies were playing. He tried to think back to when Doyle was talking about new movies but he couldnt remember anything that was in theaters at that time. Looking around the outside of the theater he was already regretting coming. It looked like every teenager in the whole town was outside the theater, he heard some of them mention Might Ducks. "Great, it must be opening night." Angel said to himself. He stepped up on the curb and accidently bumped into someone, he was about to say sorry but before he could, he heard a girls voice.

"Hey! I know you!" The girl said.

Angel looked up to see the girl from The Bronze that he had been looking for. "Yeah, you never called me." He told her. "Do you have somewhere to be right now? Maybe we could talk?"

She didnt know what to think at first, why did he want to talk to her so badly after she had shot him down the other night? She started to get curious, she looked at her to best friends.

"Your kidding me right? You dont even know this guy! You cant go anywhere with him!" Xander shouted. "Besides, we were going to listen to you complain for an hour that Charlie wasnt in the movie enough."

"I promise, I will take care of her." Angel told her male friend.

"Hey! Joshua Jackson is hot!" She defended. "I will be fine. I will see you guys later."

"Call me as soon as you get home." Her red headed friend said more as a gentle demand.

Willow and Xander stood outside the movie theater watching their best friend walk down the street with the strange man.

"This cant be good." Xander said more to himself then Willow.

"Where exactly did you want to go to talk?" Buffy asked as they walked down the sidewalk away from the Sun Cinema.

"Anywhere you would like." Angel said looking over at her.

Buffy thought for a moment. "There is a Diner not far down the road, I'm kind of hungry anyway."

Walking into the Diner, there were only two other customers there. Buffy went straight to the counter that was nearest to the kitchen and leaned over it. "Hey, Lilly! A burger and fries!" Then turned to Angel. "You want?"

"Sure." Angel replied.

"Make that two!" She shouted.

Angel walked over to a booth and sat down, Buffy followed him sitting across from him. Buffy glared at him for a second. "You know I dont even know why I am here. I shouldnt be here."

"I'm glad that you are here." He told her honestly. "My name is Angel McCallum. What is yours?" When he didnt get a response he nodded. "The reason I wanted you to call me is because I am a manager for Caritas Entertainment. If you even glanced at my card you would know that."

"A manager for what?" She wondered.

"I heard you sing. Your good. I want to sign you." He said bluntly.

"I have a manager." She told him.

Angel studied her face for a moment. "You have a manager?"

She nodded.

"Are you currently signed into a contract with anyone?" He asked her.

Buffy shook her head no. "But I have a manager and a band." A elderly waitress brought two cups of water to the table and set them down in front of Buffy and Angel. "Thanks Linda."

"You have a Band? Have you been looking to be signed? It seems like you are ready to have a career in the entertainment industry." He said.

"Yeah but no one will sign me." She said taking a sip of her ice water. "There have been plenty of reasons why. I'm to young, I dont have the look, I'm not good enough."

Angel smiled at her. "I think you are good enough. You have the look too. You may not think it or whoever else you talk to may not think you have the look but my response to them would be they are an idiot. You are very pretty and in a few short years you are going to grow up and become extremely hot. I guarantee it."

"Are you hitting on me?" She asked seriously as a young waitress brought their plates of food to them.

"No, I am stating a fact. If I was hitting on you, then you would know it." He said winking at the young waitress with the name tag that said Amy. "As for your age.." He looked back to Buffy and continued. "We dont care how old you are as long as your parents give the go."

"You would sign me?" She asked him. He nodded at her. "Can my band come too?"

Angel nodded. "But I would have to hear them."

"What about my manger?" She seemed like she was testing him.

Angel narrowed his eyes at her. "I would be your manager."

"but what if I refuse if my manager cant come? Do you want me that bad that you would... co-manage?" She said with a half smile.

Angel ignored her statment. "If you want to I can sit here and convince you on all the reasons you should sign with Caritas Entertainment."

Buffy smiled. "No need."

Angel smiled back. "Talk to your parents."

"Buffy." She offered eating a fry.

"Come again." He asked confused.

"My name. Buffy Summers." She told him.

Angel nodded. "And how old are you exactly, Buffy Summers?"

"15." She replied taking a bite of her burger.

After finishing their meal Angel asked Buffy if she needed him to drive her anywhere, she told him she would rather walk. The biggest reason she wanted to walk home was so she could call Willow on the way, with her trusty cell phone that her parents only let her have on weekends while she was out with her friends so she could check in. Buffy told Willow everything that happened with Angel, as Buffy walked up the steps of her back porch her ear was still ringing from the excited high pitched scream that came from the other end of the phone.

Buffy walked into the kitchen and saw her parents, Joyce and Rupert cleaning up after dinner. "Hey Mom, Hey Dad." She said putting her purse on the kitchen island

"Sweetie, you missed dinner. We saved you some. I can warm it up for you." Her mother said.

Buffy walked over to the fridge and took out a can of soda. "Actually, I already ate. I need to talk to you about something though." She said sitting on the bar stool near the island.

"Is something wrong Buffy?" Her dad asked in a concerned voice.

Buffy watched her parents, they looked worried which caused her to smile. Why does everything make them worry? "I met a guy at The Bronze like last week when it was open mic night. I didnt talk to him thought because I am a good little girl like you raised me to be but he found me again..."

"Is he bothering you sweetie?" Her mother asked getting even more worried.

"No. I didnt know what to think of him at first but then we talked again tonight... turns out he works for the record company and he heard me sing at The Bronze. Long story short... he wants to sigh me." Buffy told her parents.

"That is great Buffy!" Rupert smiled.

Joyce was excited. "Great? It is amazing! This this what you want Buffy? I know you wernt exactly sure about it." Her mother wanted to know. "Wait, do you know for sure he is legit?"

"He gave me his card... maybe Wills can look him up online. See if he is real." She said. She hadnt thought that maybe he wasnt really who he said he was. Buffy looked down at her hands that were placed on the counter top of the island. "I do want this though... I just need your okay. With me being a minor I need the permission of my parents... so?"

"If this is what you really want then of course we will allow you to do it." Her father said sitting on the bar stool next to her.

"You have but face." Buffy said watching her father.

Joyce laughed. "That isnt exactly how you get what you want."

"I mean I can tell there is going to be a but coming so.. hit me with it dad." She told him.

"You will need to keep up with your school work. There will be no missed classes. Your grades need to be good..." Her dad took off his glasses. "Well remain as they are at the very least."

"So in other words, I have to remain a C student." Buffy clarified.

"Not just a C. A solid C." Joyce joked.

"Very cool! So you guys have to talk to him! This is so awesome!" Buffy said jumping off the bar stool, grabbing her purse in one hand and the can of soda in the other running excitedly to her room.


	3. Backgrounds and Parents

AN: Thank you for your feedback. I always enjoy feedback as long as you are nice about it.

The song mentioned in this chapter is All American Girl by Carrie Underwood but I am using it as a song written by Buffy.

This might be the last chapter for a little while because I am focusing on The Girl Next Door right now and I am also working on a Christmas fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 3: Backgrounds and Parents

Buffy called Angel McCallum Saturday morning, well it was morning for her. It was more like 11:00. Angel asked her where they could meet to talk, they agreed on The Expresso Pump. Buffy didn't know why she couldn't just tell him over the phone that her parents gave her the okay and they will meet with him.

Before Buffy went to meet with Angel she stopped by Willow's house. She had called Willow before she went to bed the night before to ask her if they could do a little Mr. McCallum 101 online before she met with him.

Knocking on the Rosenberg's front door she waited until her best friend's mother opened it. Mrs. Rosenberg wasn't very fond of Buffy or her close relationship with Willow. Without saying a word she opened the door further to let Buffy in. Buffy gave her a small smile before running up to Willow's bedroom.

"Boy, your mom really loves me." Buffy said shutting Willow's bedroom door and making her way over to Willow's bed.

"Yes, she does." Willow joked, turning in her computer chair to face her best friend. She already had the search engine up on the screen waiting for Buffy.

Buffy laid down on the bed. "What did I ever do to her?"

"You kissed a boy." The red head answered turning back around towards the computer screen. "So you said his name is Angel McCallum?"

Buffy nodded handing Willow her purse. "His card is in there."

"You and Xander expect me to do everything." Willow smiled taking the purse from her best friends hand.

"Only because we trust you." Buffy said looking over towards the screen of Willow's desktop computer as Willow took the card out of Buffy's purse. She typed his name into the search engine.

"Wow!" Willow said excitedly.

"What?" Buffy asked getting up quickly to see what Willow found. She crossed the small space between Willow's bed and the computer desk.

Willow pointed to the computer screen. "This guy manages a bunch of really famous people! Toni Braxton , Backstreet Boys, Nsync and 98 Degrees!"

"Who?" Buffy asked confused leaning one hand on the corner of the desk and the other hand on the back of Willow's desk chair.

"Okay, your right. I dont know who 98 Degrees is but Toni Braxton, Nsync and Backstreet Boys! This guy means serious business. You have to at least see what he has to say!" Willow was so excited she could barely contain herself but when Buffy didn't say anything back she got a little worried. "Buffy?" She watched her best friend shake her head.

"Sorry, I just had Tearin' Up My Heart stuck in my head." Buffy smiled.

Willow laughed. "So?"

"I guess I am going to go talk to Mr. McCallum since my personal researcher says its okay." Buffy turned and walked towards the door. "Thanks Will."

When Buffy walked into The Expresso Pump she saw him already sitting at a table with a coffee cup in front of him. She was only a few minutes late, she wondered how long he had been there.

"Hey." She said walking up with her purse dangling from her hands in front of her.

"Hello Miss. Summers." He said picking up his cup.

Buffy sat down across from him. "Call me Buffy, its not like I'm old or something."

Angel smiled remembering that she had called him old the first night they met. "Did you talk to your parents?"

Buffy nodded. "They want to talk to you."

"Is that a good thing?" He asked.

Nodding again she told him. "I'm sure they will have some guidelines for you, that is how my parents are. They are totally cool but sometimes things have to be there way... or they make you think it has to be their way just so they feel like they are in control."

"That is completely understandable." He said. "The guidelines thing, not the think they are in control part of it. They are your parents."

"You can meet with them whenever." She told him, then asked. "How long have you been doing this? Representing people, I mean."

Angel took a sip of his coffee. "A few years. Dont worry though, I know what I am doing"

"Its not that..." Buffy said. "I was just wondering how many people... change. I'm worried about changing in to someone else.. or something else. I see it in the news and magazines all the time. These people become rude and stuck up. All they do is party and flash themselves to the paparazzi."

"First, don't believe everything you hear on the news or see in magazines, those people make stories up to get people to buy their product. Don't worry about how it will change you, Buffy. I will protect you." He told her seriously. "That is what I am here for."

Buffy gave him a small smile. "Are you going to kick me in the ass to bring me down a notch?"

"If that's what it takes." He nodded with a smile.

"Good, keep me grounded." She whispered still smiling. "Willow kicked me in the ass once so to speak.. I did this commertial years ago... it feels like forever ago now. It was only shown in Sunnydale I think. It was for a local Ice Cream shop we have here. I thought I was awesome because I was on TV. That was before I got the show though."

"The show?" He asked her.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I was on this show called Rise and Shine Sunnydale, I was on there for almost 3 years. It was yet another local thing. We have our own channel, when I was younger I thought having our own channel was the most amazing thing ever but then I found out a lot of towns have their own channel. Anyway, It was a News show but to keep the younger viewers interested we would do little skits. There were a bunch of kids on the show together. I still go to school with a few people that I was on the show with, we were all really close back then."

"Wow, so you are already a star." Angel smiled at her. "So you and these kids you were on the show with, you aren't friends anymore?"

"No. There was a rumor that the producers of the show liked me more then the other kids so they were upset. It turned out it was more then just a rumor. I ended up getting my own show called Girl Talk but things at school got really bad with the other kids so that only lasted 1 season." She explained to him.

"How long ago was that?" He asked drinking his coffee.

Buffy looked down at her hands. "It ended about 5 years ago."

"Does this mean your an actress on top of a singer?" He said in a jokingly tone.

Buffy laughed. "I guess so."

Angel nodded. "A double threat." He knew she had something in her that most performers didn't have. "Can you dance too?"

"Actually..." Buffy made a face, almost like she didn't want to answer him. "... Yes."

"Damn! A triple threat! Move over Jennifer Lopez, Buffy Summers is coming through." He laughed which caused Buffy to laugh too.

Angel told Buffy he would drive her home from The Expresso Pump and then he could meet with her parents if they were home.

"Is this a rental?" Buffy asked about the convertible Angel was driving.

Angel nodded. "I flew here."

"From where?" Buffy asked just to fill the silence. She didn't like silence.

"Are you asking where I flew from or where I am from?" He asked glancing at her.

Turning to look at him she asked. "Is there a difference?"

"I have been all over the United States the last couple of months trying to find new talent so yeah, there is a different, I live in Los Angeles though." He told her.

"Oh." She said looking out at all the passing houses on the passenger side of the car. "Should I actually be in a car with you. I mean, I don't even know you."

"Your right." Angel smiled. "A 15 year old girl like yourself should know not to get into a car with a stranger."

"Was this a test?" She joked.

Angel smiled at her. "So where is this place?"

"This place? You mean my house?" She asked. "Its on Revello Drive, just a few more blocks."

"Your parents know everything right?" He wanted to know.

Buffy nodded. "Why else would I be taking a total stranger to my house? I wouldn't do that unless my Daddy was there to protect me!"

Daddy? She really is still a kid. He just hoped she was mature enough to handle everything that comes along with a record deal. Buffy pointed to a house and Angel pulled over in front of the house. Buffy started to get out then turned to Angel.

"You coming?" She asked.

Nodding he turned the car off and got out.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home! And a brought a strange man with me." She yelled through the house from where she was standing in front of the front door. Angel closed the door behind her, not saying a word. A man walked into the fore from the back of the house, it was the same man from The Magic Box.

"Hey Dad..." Buffy started.

"Mr. McCallum. How are you?" Her father asked.

Buffy looked between the two men confused. "You two know each other?"

"Only briefly. Mr. McCallum came in to the store yesterday to purchase a book." He told his daughter.

Angel smiled. He met this guy before, they seemed to hit it off when he was at the book store. This was going to be easier then her thought. "Rupert, I'm fine. Thank you. How are you?"

"I'm great but please, call me Giles. Everyone does." He turned to give his teenage daughter a pointed look. "No matter what my opinion on the matter is."

"At least we stopped calling you G-man." She shrugged like a small child. Receiving another pointed look from her father she admitted. "Okay so MOST of us stopped called you G-man."

Giles turned to Angel. "Kids." He readjusted his glasses on his face. "My wife will be right in, she is trying to figure out how to rearrange the back yard."

"What is wrong with the back yard? I like the back yard like it is. Where else are me, Will and Xan going to lay out and look at all the cool shapes that the stars make?" Buffy said in a rush.

Angel glanced at Buffy with a questioning look but her back was to him so she couldn't see him.

"I'm sure she wont change it that much, Buffy." He reassured her as Joyce walked into the house.

Buffy walked quickly over to her mother. "Are you really rearranging the back yard? Do I get no say in it?"

Joyce gave Buffy a knowing smile. "Sweetie, we don't even know for sure if we are going to do anything. Just relax." she then looked to Angel. "Hello, I'm Joyce Summers."

"Angel McCallum." He introduced himself.

Joyce led everyone into the living room and asked if she could get anyone anything. They discussed what would happen if Buffy were to sign a contract with Caritas Entertainment for an hour while they snacked on cookies. Buffy was starting to get bored.

"The main issue right now would be that Buffy is a minor, there for she cant be anywhere alone. She will need either one of you or another adult that could chaperon her at all times." He told them.

Her parents looked at each other. "I don't know how that is going to work out since we both have our own businesses and Buffy has a younger sister."

"Should have had me sooner." Buffy teaser. "Then I would be older and we wouldn't have this problem."

"Yes, encourage me to have had you in college." Joyce said sarcastically.

Rupert looked scared for a moment. "I don't think we could have handled her while we were in college."

Buffy laughed. "That's sad. College kids are supposed to be all crazy and wild."

"YOU were crazy and wild." Her mother told her.

Rupert looked at his wife. "She hasn't changed one bit."

"Hey!" Buffy protested.

"We will work something out with the chaperon. You said if we couldn't do it then another adult could?" Joyce asked Angel.

He nodded. "Yes, as long as it is someone that you appoint. The next thing which is the biggest part of getting a record deal... making a demo. Now my boss trusts me 100% but he will still need to hear a demo."

"So this thing isn't a sure bet unless the big guy signs off on it?" Buffy asked a little nervous.

Angel turned to look at her, she was sitting in the large chair across from him. "Like I said Buffy, he trusts me completely. But none the less, we will need to pick a song that goes best with your voice."

"Which is?" She asked him.

Angel clasped his hands together. "I was going to leave that up to you."

"Really?" She asked him, receiving a nod from him. "Can I sing a song that I wrote myself?"

"You are a songwriter?" He asked a little surprised.

Joyce smiled at her daughter. "Yeah! I have been writing songs for years."

"Its the school work she has a problem writing." Her dad joked. "Speaking of..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, my grades have to stay as they are now or get better." Buffy dismissed.

Angel looked down at his watch, he was going to meet a girl he had met late last night so he needed to wrap this up. "Okay so you pick a song and let me know. Is there a recording studio in this area?"

Buffy shook her head no.

"We will have to go to LA to do it then. Can we do it sometime during the week?" He asked standing up from the couch.

Rupert raised his eyebrows. "As long as it is after school hours" then he turned to Buffy. "And your home work best be done first!"

Buffy nodded at him. "Yes, Daddy."

Angel made his way to the door. "I will call you on Monday then. Remember to pick a song."

As the door shut Buffy looked her her parents. "Well someone was in a hurry."

Monday morning Buffy got to school early, which was very rare and by rare meant it NEVER happened. She made her way to the courtyard and smiled when she saw a boy sitting by the fountain tuning his guitar with orange hair.

"Hey Oz!" She smiled sitting next to him.

He looked at her oddly. "Hey Buffy."

"So, how is the music?" She asked as if she was overly interested.

Oz stopped tuning his guitar. "Okay. I think we are about to get to a point where we don't suck."

"Cool! So I have a favor to ask." She said but didn't wait for him to respond. "So, this guy talked to me after I sang at The Bronze on Open Mic Night but totally long story short he wants to sign me. I was just looking to see how far he would go and he went pretty far but anyway, I told him I kind of had a band but hey, we all know I really don't BUT he agreed to at least hear my band to see how it sounds. Pretty cool huh?"

Oz nodded. "What band?"

"Well, I was thinking you." She smiled at him.

Oz put his guitar away. "Buffy, I'm one guy. I'm not a band, and didn't you hear we are ABOUT to get to a point where we don't suck. That means we aren't good."

"Oz, you are totally good!" Buffy whined grabbing his arm. "Please, I don't want to get into this whole record deal thing alone!"

Oz looked at her for a second. She got stranger and stranger everyday since the say he met her when she grabbed him, slammed him against the wall and asked him what he looked for in a girl. He later found out that Buffy wanted to hook him up with her best friend Willow, but Oz didn't see Willow that way. Not at first anyway, he was beginning to see her in a different way but now they were stuck in that awkward friend stage.

"You are totally to good for Dingo's, Oz!" She continued to whine. "You my friend are destined for greatness!"

Oz nodded. "Okay but that doesn't mean this guy is going to like me."

"Of course it does." She said happily that she got her way. "Your the best, Oz!"

"That's what they tell me." He said picking up his guitar case.

Buffy was sitting in her first period class before anyone else came in. Willow was normally the first student in class but today she walked in to find Buffy already sitting and her desk.

"Are you trying to take my title as the teachers pet?" Willow joked.

"Huh?" Buffy looked up to see her best friend."Oh hey! Sorry, I had to get to school a little early today and then I got bored so I thought I would come in here and pull a Cordelia, see." She said holding up her hand to show off her freshly painted pink finger nails.

"How did it go with Angel?.. Mr. McCallum... what do I call him?" The flustered red head asked her best friend.

"I don't know." She laughed. "It went good though. He is going to call me tonight because I have to record a demo and then get it to his boss. Guess what!"

Willow's eye got large. "What?"

"Oz is doing it with me!" Buffy said excitedly.

At Willow's confused expression, Buffy explained. "I may have told him MR. MCCALLUM that I have a band because I just wanted to see if he really wanted to sign me so I asked Oz to be my band because he agreed to hear my 'band'"

"But you don't have a band, Buffy." Willow pointed out.

Buffy signed. "I know! Oz is going to be my one man band!"

After school Buffy ran upstairs feeling extremely giddy. "Hey mom!" She ran past her parents bedroom and then her sister's bedroom. "Hey Dawnie!"

Joyce walked out of her room and slowly followed the same path her oldest daughter had just ran. "Where's the fire?"

Buffy threw her books on her bed then sat down next to them. "Did he call yet?" She was worried she had missed his call.

"If by HE you mean Mr. McCallum then no, he hasn't." Her mother informed her.

Buffy frowned. "But he should call soon right? How late is to late to call with this kind of thing?"

Joyce walked into her daughters room. "I honestly don't know, but I am sure he will call."

45 minutes later he still hadn't called, Buffy has started freaking out so her mother suggested they study to get her mind off of the phone call. It wasn;t exactly Buffy's idea of a good time but she thought maybe it would help her keep her grades up which was part of the deal. Buffy laid with her head in her mothers lap, her mother smoothing her hair out of her face and they reviewed the material for Buffy's next history test on the Revolutionary War when the phone rang. Buffy hurried to grab the phone by her bed. "Hello?"

"Buffy?" Came Angel's voice. He sounded a little out of breath.

"Yeah." She told him.

"Hey, so did you pick a song?" He asked her trying to catch her breath. He didn't mean to be late calling her but he had gotten distracted by a woman he met when he went out to lunch. They talked for a few minutes but that didn't last long, they were back at his hotel room before he even found out her name. Looking over at the beautiful red head laying on her stomach beside him he wondered if he should find out her name.

"Yeah, I was a little scared you went going to call." She told him nervously.

Angel didn't take his eyes off of the woman next to him. "What is the name of the song?"

"You know my friend Oz, he plays guitar and he said he would totally meet with you so you could hear him." She rambled. "Because of the band thing..."

"Yeah, yeah, Okay." He said as the woman next to him rolled over. "The name."

"Danial Osbourne." She told him. "But everyone calls him Oz."

Angel closed his eyes in irritation. "I mean the song."

"Oh! Sorry. All American Girl. You said I could pick from my own so I did!" She smiled into the phone.

"Great. I will call your parents tomorrow then." He said rushed and the woman began rubbing up and down his chest.

"Well my mom is right here." Buffy handed the phone to Joyce before Angel could get a word out.

Joyce smiled at Buffy then spoke into the phone. "Hello."

"Mrs. Summers." He said trying not to pay attention to the hand sneaking lower under the sheet.

"Call me Joyce." She smiled.

Angel closed his eyes again and bit the inside of his cheek. "Right, Joyce. So how about you or your husband take Buffy to LA on Wednesday and we will record the demo."

"That sounds fin..." Joyce said before she was cut off.

"Great, talk to you then." He rushed, hanging up the phone.

Joyce pushed the off button on the phone and set it down on the bed. Something was off about that man. "He is very busy, he had to go but he said on Wednesday you can record your demo."


End file.
